<figure id="attachment_403917" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403917" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c97bfca7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/de2ce2c158c0777515d3e36f922879dd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403917" class="wp-caption-text">Eiji Iwahashi, the defendant at the time of his arrest and prosecution</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Planned escape route</h2>
<p> On December 5, Eiji Iwahashi, 61, a former cab driver accused of molesting a teenage woman on the JR Saikyo Line and fleeing into the train tracks, was arraigned at the Tokyo District Court.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> According to the indictment, on May 27, 2012, Iwahashi committed indecent acts, including touching a woman&#8217;s buttocks, on a JR Saikyo Line train. When the victims were taken off the train by the station staff, he jumped down onto the tracks to escape from them. He was also charged with obstructing the operation of a train. FRIDAY also covered the first trial held on October 25. The defendant admitted the facts of the indictment, saying, &#8220;There is no doubt. As for the crime,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was looking for a girl who might be a target on the station platform, aiming for a crowded time during the commuting hours. I got on the train with Ms. A (the victim&#8217;s name) with the intention of touching her. And I think I &#8220;hit&#8221; on her. (From Iwahashi&#8217;s affidavit) &#8220;&#8216;Hitting&#8217; means touching a woman&#8217;s thigh with the back of my hand on her skirt under the guise of coincidence, and checking her reaction to the touch.</span></p>
<p> (from Iwahashi&#8217;s statement). As for jumping off the platform at Shinjuku Station onto the train tracks and escaping, he said that he <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;had it in his head in advance as an escape route</span>.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> [Joon] was suspected of molestation and was about to be caught, so I ran away on the tracks in the direction of Ikebukuro and jumped down to the ground from near the big guard in Shinjuku. I knew that it was easy to escape because there were no other people on the tracks, because I had run on the tracks at Shinjuku Station several times in the past when I was about to be caught as a molester,&#8221; (Iwahashi&#8217;s statement).</span></p>
<p> He stated that the crime was premeditated. Iwahashi had been repeatedly committing molestations since he was around 25 years old, and this was not the first time he had been arrested.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" His boss at the cab company appeared as a circumstantial witness at the trial."></div>
<h2>What is your reputation at the cab company where you have re-hired?</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In January 2010, he molested an 18-year-old woman on the JR Saikyo Line. He was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for indecent assault and was released just last year.</span></p>
<p> Iwahashi is a habitual criminal of molestation, but he was one of the top-ranking salesmen at the cab company where he worked until his arrest in May 2012.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He worked hard from early in the morning until his eyes were full. He was one of the top salesmen in the company, one of the top three on my fingers.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> At the trial, Iwahashi&#8217;s former boss at the cab company appeared as a circumstantial witness. He stated the above words and testified that Iwahashi was one of the top three performers among approximately 130 drivers. Furthermore,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was &#8220;low-ranking and courteous. He never had any trouble with his colleagues or customers.</span></p>
<p> He testified that he was an exemplary driver. His former boss was also in charge of interviewing Iwahashi for the position,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> During the interview, I had a good impression of him because he was very brisk in his answers. He had a strong will to work.</span></p>
<p> He explained the circumstances of his hiring of Iwahashi. He also talked about Iwahashi&#8217;s previous conviction for molestation,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I knew he had a criminal record, but I thought he would be punished accordingly and would not do it again,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p> He believed that he would be rehabilitated.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> However, about a year after he was hired, he was unable to suppress his twisted desires and committed molestation again. When asked how he felt when Iwahashi was arrested, his former boss replied, &#8220;I did it,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I did it. I feel betrayed.</span></p>
<p> He expressed his frustration. As he listened to his former boss&#8217;s testimony, Iwahashi&#8217;s eyes behind his glasses were lifeless and expressionless. There was no trace of the top-class sales driver in his appearance. After his arrest, Iwahashi was fired from the cab company.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" His supervisor said, &quot;I wonder if I could give him a hand.&quot;"></div>
<h2>Sex crimes have a high recidivism rate.</h2>
<p> However, his former boss appeared as a mercy witness and about the future,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> job, &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen him for a year and I think I can reach out to him.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> He testified that there is a possibility that he could be rehired.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He testified, &#8220;It is said that sex crimes, like drugs, have a high recidivism rate. In many cases, the defendant is unable to be employed due to his/her criminal record and becomes isolated due to poverty and other factors, leading him or her to commit the crime again. In the case of defendant Iwahashi, he committed the crime again while working hard at his job. Rehabilitation of offenders requires the support of an accepting society. However, the warm-heartedness toward Iwahashi at this point in time is questionable. Iwahashi&#8217;s crime is a sex crime, and he has committed it again.</span></p>
<p> I think it is indeed impossible for him to go back to being a cab driver who is likely to be alone with women, but I sincerely hope that he will be rehabilitated so that there will be no more victims.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<figure id="attachment_403918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403918" style="width: 932px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bd5cb4fe"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/81d28ad42664dc522c58d91d1bef79f5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403918" class="wp-caption-text"> He was said to be one of the top three cab drivers in terms of business performance.</figcaption></figure>


 Shinji Hasuo

 Eiji Iwahashi, who was arrested on May 27, 2012 for molesting a woman on the JR Saikyo Line, had his trial held at the Tokyo District Court on December 5, 2012, and his boss at the cab company where he worked appeared in court. The boss of the taxi company where he worked appeared in court and spoke about the defendant's character.

Trial of cab driver who molested a woman and fled to the train tracks: &#8220;Betrayal&#8221; that did not stop even though he had the highest sales performance at the company where he worked.

Trial of cab driver who molested a woman and fled to the train tracks: “Betrayal” that did not stop even though he had the highest sales performance at the company where he worked.

Access Ranking